When a committee at the Mount Airy Museum of Regional History started talking about a racing exhibit, the members had no idea that it would escalate into a three-day event.

White Liquor and Dirt Tracks: The Origins of NASCAR will take place in downtown Mount Airy Jan. 22-24. Originating from a museum exhibit which will debut during the weekend, the event will offer everything from vintage stock car displays to autograph sessions to a book-signing with an author.

“There is very clearly a local connection to the origin of racing with bootlegging and moonshine to the dirt track racing. That really was the foundation of NASCAR,” said Matt Edwards, executive director of the museum. “It’s a weekend-long celebration of the roots of racing.”

The event will kick off on Friday with the opening of the “White Liquor and Dirt Tracks” exhibit at the museum. That evening, “Thunder Road” will be shown at the Downtown Cinema.

The exhibit is being designed for display at the Mount Airy museum for several months and will then be available for display at other small museums. It will cover topics from the moonshine and bootlegging industry to the dirt track racing to the Mount Airy race track and the evolution of the industry.

“It will feature artifacts, photos and bits and pieces of race cars, the whole gamut,” said Edwards.

Saturday will feature a full day of events including an autograph session with old-time drivers and NASCAR drivers and the sale of racing memorabilia and souvenirs in the museum’s annex on Oak Street. There will be a panel discussion about racing including drivers, and NASCAR will have souvenirs and show cars on display.

Saturday also will see the closing of half of Main Street for a display of between 50 and 75 vintage stock cars.

Author Sharyn McCrumb and co-author of her new book, Adam Edwards, will be available to sign copies of their book, “Faster Pastor,” which is not due out in stores until April. McCrumb, whose ballad novels brought her notoriety as an author of historical fiction, developed an interest in the history of racing which led to the publication of two other novels, “St. Dale” and “Once Around the Track.”

Saturday night will feature a concert by Matt Dylan, a new Nashville, Tenn., recording artist who has an original song, “Carolina Moonshine,” on the soundtrack to “Red Dirt Rising.” “Red Dirt Rising,” which was filmed in North Carolina, is based on the true story of racing’s origins through the lives of Jimmie Lewallen and his friends Bill Blair and Fred Harb, who find escape from life in racing. The film is in post-production and will make its debut on the film festival circuit this year. A number of actors from the film will be available during the weekend for an autograph session.

There will also be a cruise-in Saturday afternoon for local residents who want to bring their cars out for a showcase.

“It’s kind of a come-as-you-are event for local car folks,” said Edwards.

— The Mount Airy News

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